Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 11, 2007
4. Water Quality
LOS OSOS ISSUES:
Water board will hold off on septic stop mandates in Los Osos; Citing progress on a sewer project, the regional water board makes the decision in an unusually calm meeting - San Luis Obispo Tribune
Higher sewer rates possible in Morro Bay - San Luis Obispo Tribune
New deal to study river health;
Answers about Greenville water: state and district respond - Plumas County News
LOS OSOS ISSUES:
Water board will hold off on septic stop mandates in Los Osos; Citing progress on a sewer project, the regional water board makes the decision in an unusually calm meeting
San Luis Obispo
By Sona Patel, staff writer
Saying they believe a sewer will be built in Los Osos, regional water board staff agreed Thursday to hold off on ordering thousands in the town to stop using their septic systems by 2011 or face massive fines.
And after four hours of unusually calm testimony from Los Osos residents, board members also told their staff to consider suspending previous enforcement actions against nearly four dozen residents, in a move that demonstrated significant optimism that a sewer will be built.
Their action resonated well with residents who attended the meeting. They said they felt like it was the first time the board demonstrated a willingness to work with the community.
All homes and businesses in Los Osos, a town of about 14,000, operate on septic systems.
The water board blames those systems for polluting the groundwater and
After repeated attempts to build a sewer system failed, the water board last year began issuing stop orders to individual property owners, saying they must stop using their septic systems and hook up to a sewer when one becomes available.
Harvey Packard, the water board’s enforcement coordinator, said his agency merely wants to make it clear that responsibility for the pollution in Los Osos rests with individual homeowners.
However, the county has taken over the design and construction of a sewer under a plan by Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo. The Los Osos Community Services District — now under federal bankruptcy protection to deal with nearly $40 million in debts from an aborted attempt at building a sewer — would take over the system after its completion.
Last week, after learning about the water board’s plan to consider more than 4,400 septic system stop orders, county supervisors drafted a letter asking the board to hold off on that decision.
The county’s rationale is that its project is progressing and it will need to ask Los Osos property owners in November to agree to tax themselves in order to build the sewer. Enforcement actions could be seen as electioneering, the county argued, with property owners feeling as if they were being blackmailed into a “yes” vote.
The
Thursday meeting
The meeting Thursday began with water board staff presenting the county’s letter to the board but saying that it was prepared to proceed with the stop orders. Staff did not need the water board’s authorization to issue the orders but was seeking its recommendation.
Packard said he believed moving forward with enforcement actions would not derail county efforts to build a sewer.
“These actions could reinforce the county’s process,” he said. “And we want that process to succeed.”
Water board members initially expressed disappointment that county staff who are working on the sewer project were not present to talk about the letter and address water board questions.
Water board member Gary Shallcross was reluctant to act on the letter without first discussing progress being made toward a project.
“For someone to just drop a letter and not be able to enter a discussion is not very helpful,” he said.
Sherie Aispuro, legislative assistant to Supervisor Bruce Gibson (whose 2nd District includes Los Osos), apologized on his behalf that he was unable to attend.
Civil discussion
The public was allowed to speak, and dozens of residents backed the letter, echoing the county’s belief that enforcement actions could be seen as electioneering and could block the success of a tax vote.
Instead of the shouting, cheering and lobbing of insults in which Los Osos residents often engage at water board hearings, speakers for four hours calmly pointed to specific examples of the county’s progress on the sewer.
“We don’t want anything done that would lead to another delay,” said Chuck Cesena, president of the Los Osos Community Services District board. “The county is the best hope for the quickest process” to get a sewer built.
After public comment, water board members expressed a willingness to allow the county to make a presentation on the sewer project’s progress at a future meeting, most likely in September.
The board also recommended that its staff hold off on septic stop orders.
“It seems like the only time we get anything done around here is when we threaten enforcement,” Shallcross said. “But right now, I’m not averse to holding back enforcement.”
Board member
“It seems like right now we’re looking at a possible successful project,” he said. “I think we’re getting what we want, and I agree we should wait to see what the county has and how it’s going.”
Packard said based on the water board’s comment, the prosecution team will hold off on enforcement actions at least until the county has an opportunity to meet with the board.
He added that rescinding previous enforcement actions will also be considered at the water board’s next meeting, in July. #
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/183/story/38705.html
Higher sewer rates possible in Morro Bay
By Sona Patel, staff writer
City Council members say revamping the plant — which it owns with the Cayucos Sanitary District — is necessary to comply with stricter state wastewater requirements that could be imposed if it is not upgraded soon.
The plant has operated with a state-issued waiver since the early 1980s, which allows minimal treatment of raw sewage from
“We want to get the plant done,” she said. “We know we need to do that, and it’s the right thing to do.”
Council members are expected to discuss improvements to the plant at their Monday night meeting.
State water regulators said they strongly advised the agencies about three years ago to consider upgrading the plant.
Since then, officials with
City officials are mainly considering two technologies that would cost $22 million to $35 million, according to City Attorney Rob Schultz.
The agencies would satisfy state and federal wastewater requirements by upgrading to secondary treatment standards, which is the least costly option.
Upgrading to full tertiary — the highest possible treatment of wastewater —would tack on several million dollars more, Peters said.
If
To use that reclaimed water, the city would have to spend thousands of dollars installing so-called purple pipes to transport the water throughout the city and to Cayucos.
According to a city staff report, any upgrade would lead to an increase of at least $20 per month for ratepayers. And that does not take into account annual maintenance or the costs of increasing state regulations.
The average household now pays about $40 a month in sewer fees.
Peters said a full upgrade might lead to a problem in securing grant funding because of strict requirements on how plant effluent should be used.
“I don’t know what all grant funding requires,” Peters said. “But if they’re predicated on using reclaimed water, then that adds several million dollars.”
With either option, Peters said the Cayucos Sanitary District’s decision to financially contribute to a project might have an influence over what type of technology that agency and the city choose.
If the plant had the ability to produce reclaimed water, Cayucos wouldn’t be able to receive it unless there was a way to transport it through purple pipes.
Environmental groups want to see the agency improve to the highest possible standards, believing that better technology would reduce pollution and curb additional upgrade costs in the future.
The Natural Resources Defense Council estimated the upgrades would cost $25 million— about $16 per month added to monthly sewer bills for the next 20 years. If the plant upgraded to tertiary, the environmental agency estimated $1 more per month.
However city staff says those are low-ball estimates that only account for initial construction and disregard routine maintenance and the costs of piping reclaimed wastewater. #
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/183/story/38714.html
New deal to study river health;
By Kevin Courtney, staff writer
Challenged by an environmental organization, the Napa Sanitation District has agreed to do additional studies of how its operations might contaminate local waterways.
The agreement between the district and Northern California River Watch will resolve such questions scientifically rather than through litigation, officials on both sides said.
While Napa Sanitation is a well-run operation, he said, virtually all sewer districts play a role in the degradation in water quality throughout the Bay Area.
Michael Abramson, Napa Sanitation District general manage, said the agency is in compliance with the Clean Water Act, but River Watch raised “some good questions. They understand the issues,” he said.
The district will undertake $200,000 worth of additional studies over the next seven years to assess its impact on waterways, Abramson said.
The district, which incurred $45,000 in attorney and consultant expenses in negotiating the settlement, will reimburse River Watch $60,000 for its attorney’s fees.
“It was in the ratepayer’s best interest to continue to improve our operation” rather than fight a more expensive legal battle with River Watch, Abramson said.
One study will assess whether biosolids sprayed on land in
Because of concern that old pipes leak raw sewage, the district will look for “human markers” in streams near district lines.
Finally, the district will sponsor studies of excessive nutrients in Upvalley streams and ways to reduce them. This is outside the district’s service area, but could contribute to the overall health of the river, Abramson said.
“We were very positively impressed with the level of professionalism and competence displayed by district staff and with their genuine interest in operating their plant in a manner that protected public health and the environment,” Bernhaut said in a prepared statement.
Napa Sanitation District treats sewage from the greater
Because the district does not discharge treated waste water into the river during the low-flow dry months, the district argued that it did not contribute to the river’s problem with excessive nutrients. The river is considered an “impaired” waterway due to high levels of nutrients that can cause algae blooms and deprive water life of oxygen. #
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2007/05/11/news/local/doc4644059b0797c956661334.txt
Answers about
By Alicia Knadler, staff writer
Questions about the
Patti Roberts of the California Department of Health Services has gathered together some answers, and so has Leanna Moore, interim general manager for the district.
The complexities of the water treatment plant were not within the sphere of her work world until just this past year.
Residents posed questions during recent meetings and after presentations by district engineer Brien Walters.
This was the message given by Walters at recent meetings: the community cannot afford the membrane-type filter; the district cannot always depend on grants; and the membrane system will have to be replaced anytime within five to 20 years.
Walters also said the $1.4 million estimate was adequate if the new water treatment system was built at today's construction prices.
But he said costs will double or triple in the two years he estimates it will take to gather all of the funding and get started with the project.
David Keller of the Plumas County Community Development Commission insisted it will not take that long, even though history with grant funding in
It took more than two years for the state to come through with the money for the total replacement of the Crescent Mills water delivery system.
That system also had a crisis in the midst of improvement plans - just like
Engineer Fred Fahlen of Eco:Logic agreed with Walters' double and triple cost estimates.
Walters told the directors they should apply for real costs, and not the $1.4 million quoted by the study and engineering report completed by U.C. Davis.
The state provides a simple and finite response to that possibility:
There is only $1 million available in grant funding through the state revolving fund, period.
If the district cannot come up with the rest of the money needed for the membrane system, the state would allow a concession.
"CDHS would allow the District time to propose another alternative that may be more cost effective as long as the alternative meets with CDHS approval," wrote Roberts in an official response to questions.
Roughing filter
Another question posed at more than one meeting addressed state approval of a 2005 project to install a roughing filter.
The filter, donated from
But the project was never completed, and some were under the impression that the state cancelled its approval four months after they gave it.
"We all have questions on that issue," district director Jane Braxton Little said when the question was brought up again at the district's special meeting Tuesday, April 24.
"CDHS sent a letter to the District accepting the roughing filter concept in December 2005," wrote Roberts.
CDHS officials understood that the two-stage filtration system project was not completed because the district had enough funds to construct one additional filter, but not enough funds to construct the roughing filters.
"Cancellation of our acceptance was not a factor, so the statement 'State approval was cancelled four months later' is not correct," Roberts stated.
There was a verbal misunderstanding with the state, according to previous management, and there was nothing in writing to protect the district.
Previous management thought there was a verbal go-ahead to improve the plant, and that the funding would come through.
That was not the case, as was discovered later.
The district could not apply for state funding to finish the project,
"It's just unfortunate," she said.
Now she, along with the directors, are discovering that the roughing filters are not approved for the district's highest turbidity rates anyway.
Sand filters
Walters' recommendation to fix what is already at the plant still stands, though.
The treatment plant will have to be replaced in 10 years anyway, he said, and in the meantime, ratepayers could help fund the new system with the 2 percent reserves the district should be collecting for just such an event.
Fahlen agreed with Walters, and then told directors and residents that the state did not approve the sand-type filters used in
"Sand filters are allowed under the state's surface water treatment regulations," Roberts wrote, and she said that CDHS still approves many surface water treatment projects that use sand filtration.
In this case, she explained, the issue is whether sand filtration or membrane filtration appears to be more cost-effective for
"The analysis performed by U.C. Davis finds that membranes appear to be less costly over the expected life of the project, and will make it easier for local operators to comply with water quality standards," she continued.
In summary, Roberts said that the CDHS believes that issues raised in the U.C. Davis report regarding two-stage filtration must be investigated before deciding to use it, especially since state funding is likely to be used for the project.
For either a membrane filter or two-stage filtration project, the district will be given three years from implementation of a funding agreement to complete the project, she said.
Meanwhile the domestic water for
Roberts shared one last piece of information in response to a resident and local restaurant owner who asked if she would keep getting boil water notices:
At such times, Roberts wrote regarding episodes of heavy rainfall, issuance of a boil water notice was and will be necessary to protect public health. #
http://plumasnews.com/news_story.edi?sid=5113
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